The United States Export Control and Related Border Security Program or EXBS donated 20 personal radiation detectors to the Bureau of Customs to enhance the agency’s nuclear and radioactive detection capability, the US Embassy in Manila said on Monday.
The small hand-held devices that were already turned over to BoC last Dec. 4 were worth P1.5 million and included training for the customs personnel using them.
“EXBS will continue to engage with and support the BoC in advanced data collection and the eventual implementation of an automated targeting system,” the embassy said.
A team of officers from the US Customs and Border Protection unit also conducted the International Seaport Interdiction Training or ISIT with the BoC. It focused on the effective use of cargo scanning through a multilayered targeting strategy, including advanced data collection, automated targeting systems, and detection technologies.
The 21 BoC officials from 10 seaports trained for three days to prepare for field exercises, which focused on the use of non-intrusive inspections equipment such as the donated detectors.
As part of the training, the US Embassy said, trainees “are given a chance to observe and analyze cargo container scans.”
The ISIT builds on a previous training of BoC officials held at the Port of Charleston in South Carolina, USA in June 2017.